50 Lists to make when life feels overwhelming

Overwhelm. It’s quite possibly one of the worst feelings out there. It can be a source of anxiety, it can make you feel like you “just can’t”, it can hinder your ability to push forward, create self-doubt, make you feel incompetent…..it’s overwhelming thinking about overwhelm!

If you’re a creative type, you may find that overwhelm as a lot less with how much you have to do and how much you WANT to create. While both create a sense of chaos, it’s often the feeling that you’ll never have time to work on a new project or read the endless amount of books at the library that gets you feeling super anxious.

One of the greatest ways to calm the overwhelm is to get clear on all those things, and create places where all your ideas can go, hidden away from the “musts” and save in a place you can come back to and reclaim them,

Today, I’m sharing with you 50 lists you can make when life feels overwhelming.

Why lists? Focusing the mind helps calm us down, gives us a purpose in the moment, and can allow us to build more awareness around what we want and need so we can stop procrastinating or relax when we need to.

Have you ever tried to work on something only to have your mind say “hey don’t forget about this..and this…oooo what about this!” — yeah. Lists help defeat those feelings so you can get more done.

Keep in mind that as you create a list it does not have to be “completed” in one setting. Use them as a reference space to come back to.

Books you want to read
Ideas you have for your scrapbook/project/journal/blog, etc.
All the things you have accomplished today so far
Reasons why you are awesome
Fun things you want to do when you have free time
Movies that always make you laugh
A “Parking Lot” for everything you want to accomplish in the next month — I like this term better than brain dump
Meals you want to eat this week
20 names for newborn baby chicks
What you’d take on a cross country road trip
Things that are overrated
All the flowers you can think of
Foods that are green
Everything you think you learned in High School
Crushes you had in grade school
Your favorite phone Apps
Gift ideas for _____
All the things your dream home would have
Favorite games for a game night
Party theme ideas
Restaurants you want to go to/try
Top 10 things you love about ______ (then share it with them!)
Documentaries that blew your mind
Products that you use on a daily basis
Everything you can think of that’s in your kitchen
Your dream grocery list
Go through the alphabet with a theme and try to name something for each letter (animals, movies, locations, fruits, celebrities, etc.)
All the traits of your ideal significant other (or everything you love about your current one)
Everything you’d need for a perfect solo movie night
The best things about Christmas (or any holiday)
Everything your dream home office would have
Questions you never got answers to
Things you still want to learn
If time was limitless, what are all the things you’d do?
The best candle scents
Your favorite foods
Podcasts you want to listen to
Things that make you happy
Sky’s the limit wish list of everything you want
What should get cleaned each week?
Things you’d do if you had a dream day/schedule
Birthdays this month
Local events to go to this season
Animals you’ve seen while hiking/taking a walk
Cute things your pets do
Recipes you want to try
Questions you want to ask your role model
Things you want to tell your future self
TV shows you’re currently watching
Hilarious YouTube videos